Brussels, 29/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - Things are going to get tough for the European car industry, according to the forecasts made by Sergio Marchionne, the president of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) and the CEO of Fiat. He made this announcement to the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, and the European commissioners for employment and industry, Lazlo Andor and Antonio Tajani respectively, on Tuesday 28 February. Speaking at the end of these meetings, at the ACEA's annual reception, the association's president stated: “The fact is that, today, very few manufacturers make money in Europe”. According to his interpretation of the situation, this year would be a difficult one for the sector and his most optimistic forecast would be “that new vehicle registrations in Europe will be flat through 2014”. He said that the situation was unsustainable and had to change. Marchionne is looking at how Europe should reorganise to become more competitive and maintain strategic industries. He has argued, for example, that Europe cannot agree free trade agreements (let alone uneven ones) if at the same time Europe will not allow its industries to address excess capacity and/or increase competitiveness. In the US, without the support of the Obama government, many automobile manufacturers would no longer be operating, explained the US ambassador to the European Union, William E. Kennard, who also attended the annual reception. He appeared to concur with the point of view of the European automobile sector and argued that governments and industry should support each other in an effort to ensure that the sector continues to make a positive contribution to the economy and society. He also called on the EU to work closely with his country in establishing standards for electric cars, before their common competitors imposed their own standards. (MD/transl.fl)